Developer Nigel Satterley tips bust for units in Brisbane, Perth

Property developer Nigel Satterley says the Brisbane and Perth apartment markets are heading towards a ‘bust’.

The Brisbane and Perth apartment markets are heading for a bust, with the cities facing falling prices and a major oversupply, a leading property developer has declared.

Nigel Satterley, whose wealth is estimated at more than $370 million and has built thousands of apartments in Perth, Brisbane and Melbourne, also predicted Perth house prices would fall 5 per cent over the next year.

Perth property prices fell 4.2 per cent over the year to June, but Brisbane prices jumped 7.1 per cent during that time.

“In Perth you can’t sell or rent a property right now,” Mr Satterley told the Citi Australia Investment Conference yesterday. “The prices have already fallen about 10 per cent over the past few years and I think they are going to lose another 5 per cent.

“The fly-in, fly-out industry has all finished so there isn’t the demand from that part of the market. Perth is going through interesting times and I don’t think we are going to see any pick up until midway through 2019.”

Mr Satterley said despite his company’s exposure to Brisbane and Perth, the markets would underperform Sydney and Melbourne for the foreseeable future.

“The downturn in Brisbane will not be quite as severe ... but the first real apartment bust will be Brisbane or Perth in the high-rise apartment market,” he said.

“In the past 12 months Brisbane and Perth have been really quite soft.

“Melbourne has been strong, it feels quite strong. You finish work and go down the street for dinner and there’s a real bustling feeling to the city.”

Mr Satterley, who has been a strong critic of West Australia Premier Colin Barnett, said the state was not prepared for the end of the mining boom and was now struggling to drive economic growth.

The state’s projected LNG exports, due to begin next year, could help soften the impact of a slowing economy, he said.

“Perth has become a one-trick pony,” he said. “The resource cycle has ended and now we are struggling.”